Tips for karaoke hosts on how to promote your event

"I am a karaoke host, should I be promoting the venues events?" A question we hear talked about a lot among the karaoke host community. The job of a karaoke host isn't easy and to be a really good host, it takes lots of practise. You are hired to entertain, to attract customers new and old, to make sure they stay all night, to manage a crowd and their requests and overall to make sure everyone has a really great experience so they come back to the next event.

One of the hardest things to do as a KJ is to promote yourself and your events and to know whether you need to promote them at all. We spoke to Marco from Flamingo Boss to put together some advice, ideas and top tips for karaoke hosts to make sure your event is a success, every time.

"People who don't take karaoke seriously, will be left behind"

"Time's have changed for karaoke hosts, people who don't take karaoke seriously, will be left behind." Says Marcos who has been hosting karaoke events for over two years.

"As a karaoke DJ, it's your responsibility to make sure you help the venue make the event a success and that includes promoting it and making sure they get repeat customers. They are not just hiring you to play karaoke music, they are hiring you to help them sell products, whether that's food or drinks. The best thing you can do is agree promotions with your venue up front, make it clear how you will help.

Social Media

"Social media is by far one of the best tools you can use as a karaoke host, it not only promotes your events but the channels are priceless in terms of raising your own profile and credibility as people can see which venues you work with. I find Facebook is really valuable as you can create events, tag your venue and invite people. Instagram is really great for showing off the vibe and atmosphere of your events with photos, videos and stories. One of the best kept secrets for karaoke hosts is to set up a Google Business page, these are great for using key words and raising your results in google searches, making it easier for people to find your events. My top tip for all social media channels is to make sure you are tagging photos with all appropriate accounts. Remember - a smaller engaged following which consists of real customers is better than thousands of fake followers which are never going to contribute to the success of your night. Venues may even be searching social media to find a karaoke host and you could well secure your next gig. On Facebook, it's also a good idea to join karaoke groups and forums where the karaoke community have regular conversation and advise."

Your Gig is your Best Promotional Tool

"There are two types of karaoke host, those who are stuck in the 80's and those who see karaoke as professional business - and they represent it as one. All our karaoke hosts dress smartly, present themselves well and turn up on time. First impressions are everything and we mean business with our karaoke nights.

One of the best things you can do to ensure you get repeat customers is to make sure everyone has a great time, word of mouth is very powerful. There are many ways you can do this including; encouraging people to sing, speak to your customers, make sure they know how to request songs, have a laugh with the audience and make sure you come across as approachable. I promise you, even those that say they don't do karaoke will be singing away by the end of the night.

Remember to promote yourself - announce at the end of the night or on the screens when your next karaoke event is."

We hope these tips from Marcos help you promote your successful karaoke nights! If you are interested in software to run your karaoke nights - check out Singa Business or feel free to reach out to us for help and advise anytime.